Faster internet speeds have been the framework for much of the innovation we’ve seen in the online casino gaming world. However, to truly understand its influence, we need to go back a quarter of a century to the early days of online casino gaming, explore how the early cornerstones of internet access created opportunities for the industry to evolve, and how even faster connection speeds could reshape the industry over the next decade.
The early embers of online casino gaming
Of all the factors that transformed the long-term potential of the online casino industry, how broadband internet changed the game was one of the transformative. There was a time, believe it or not, when owning a home computer was a luxury reserved for a small percentage of people.
Once you owned a computer, access speeds were often painfully slow and expensive, and you’d have to choose between connecting to the internet or disconnecting your home phone for a few hours.
This was a time in the late 1990s and early 2000s when mobile phones didn’t have the capabilities they do now. Calling and sending text messages was also an expensive business, and home phone numbers were much more popular than they are today.
Throughout this transitional period, broadband internet emerged as a significantly faster alternative to dial-up. Bandwidth capabilities increased dramatically, and coupled with the number of computers and mobile phones able to connect to the internet, by the early 2010s, the online casino industry was on the brink of something enormous.
Enticing a global market
Although online casino gaming companies had been in the market since the late 1990s, many of them were struggling to break into large, international markets, and some countries had not yet adapted to new ways for people to engage in gambling. While this changed significantly with the landmark UK Gambling Act 2005, which brought the entire industry into the 21st century, it also allowed casinos to establish a presence in the UK and expand their brand into multiple international markets.
For UK-based online casinos, the obvious route was to try to break into the European market. The European market, and countries in the EU, have a collective GDP that exceeds that of the North American market by trillions of dollars. Online casinos in the EU might have offered a service to European casino players, but they also had an eye on the global market.
Faster internet speeds enabled them to target this market. By the late 2010s, when a raft of US states and Canadian provinces decided to legalise multiple forms of online gambling, the foundations had already been laid by the rise of broadband and fibre.
Maintaining a framework of watertight security
The emergence of fibre-optic cables for transmitting broadband internet was another significant turning point in the modern market. However, what was just as imperative as increasing internet speed was that it did not compromise the underlying security and integrity of online casino gaming platforms.
Security is always at the forefront of any discussion about transformative change in the casino gaming world. The rise of cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, and the capabilities of artificial intelligence have laid the foundations for a new era of casino gaming. Although these technologies work together to protect data, for online casino companies, any changes should not make their platforms unsafe.
Due to the speed of the internet now connecting a global market, and the rise of cryptocurrency allowing this market to link together more closely, new providers aim at an international client base, rather than a more localized or national market within the country in which they operate.
Security is a collective goal throughout the gaming and digital economy worldwide, so any changes that harm its fabric will not only be felt in casino gaming but also across the gaming ecosystem and beyond.
Greater gaming potential
Faster internet speeds enable casino platforms to have greater capabilities, allowing for a larger number of live tables and live casino games to be hosted on their servers. Gaming libraries and the scope of the games on offer are critical criteria for online casinos looking to make a name for themselves in the burgeoning industry, and unlike the early days of online casino gaming, where platforms would have a few dozen gaming options, many now have thousands of casino games to choose from.
Without the tremendous advances in internet speeds, online casinos would not have this capacity. So, not only has it changed the way they approach their site design, but it has also provided a base to work from, allowing them to expand their platforms into previously uncharted territory.
If we angle this toward future possibilities, it also opens the door to the idea of VR casino gaming and other areas of casino gaming that have not yet been fully explored.
Granted, there needs to be an appetite and a much broader audience for VR gaming, which, despite the enormous investment pouring into the industry, does not receive the same sort of attention or level of investment as other innovations, such as AI or cryptocurrency.
Final thoughts
Faster internet speed is not just the glue that holds the online casino gaming world together; it underpins everything we do. If you access social media, you need fast internet to stream videos. Likewise, if you stream your movies or music, the speed of your internet connection is crucial.
Ultimately, all of this means that there’s huge money for fintech companies that can channel into this market and offer a reliable source of high-speed internet. All of these factors contribute to the growth of the online casino gaming industry, both directly and indirectly.
As bandwidth capabilities grow and technological advances, including AI and VR, begin to be explored in greater depth by those who work in casino game design, expect to see speed and bandwidth pushed to their limits, while those who work in the industry will need to come up with innovative ways to keep up with the growing demand.
Somewhere along the way she found herself doing freelance consulting for small businesses and home users, supporting both Linux and Windows users and integrating Linux and Windows on the LAN, primarily Linux servers and Windows clients. She is the author of the Linux Cookbook, Linux Networking Cookbook, and the Linux Cookbook 2nd Edition for O'Reilly, and has written hundreds of Linux howtos for various publications, .